One-of-a-Kind Leica Camera Sells for $3.8 Million at Auction

Nov 25, 2024

Jeremy Gray

A vintage Leica camera with a textured olive green body and a silver lens. The top features various dials and buttons, and the lens is engraved with "Ernst Leitz GmbH Wetzlar.

The first OstLicht camera auction on Chinese soil included some heavy hitters, including a one-of-a-kind Leica camera that sold for an incredible record sum of 3.62 million euros, or just about $3.8 million.

As spotted by Kosmo Foto, the OstLicht Camera and Photo Auction at the Fotografiska Museum in Shanghai on November 16 included 164 lots, 99% of which were ultimately sold, and some especially rare cameras.

OstLicht, no stranger to hosting incredible auctions, brought a remarkable Leica IIIg from 1960 to China for its 33rd camera auction since 2001. This camera was produced as a unique sample for the German Army (Bundeswehr) and never went into production. The olive green camera is in “like new” condition, fully operational, and equipped with a 50mm f/2.8 Elmar lens.

A vintage olive green Leica camera with a textured body is shown. It features a prominent lens labeled "Ernst Leitz GmbH Wetzlar," alongside various dials and knobs on the top and side. — This Leica IIIg (Bundeswehr) prototype camera, a one-of-a-kind sample, sold for 3.62 million euros, nearly $3.8 million, at auction in Shanghai earlier this month.

After starting at 80,000 euros, nearly $84,000, a 14-minute bidding war commenced between three people, ballooning the price to 3,620,000 euros (almost $3.8 million at current exchange rates), more than 45 times the starting price and well above the estimated hammer price of 140,000 to 180,000 euros.

A vintage Leica camera with a brown textured body and a silver lens. The top surface features various knobs and dials for adjusting settings, and the brand name "Leica" is engraved.

The Leica IIIg Bundeswehr is far from the only camera to attract high bids, as a Leica M3 Chrome No. 8 camera nearly hit the one million euro mark, closing at 945,000 euros ($991,173). The near-mint camera produced in 1953 is among the earliest M3 cameras, Leica’s first M-mount camera model, and in spectacular condition.

A vintage Leica M3 camera with a black body and silver detailing. The lens cap is on, and it features various dials and levers. The camera has a classic, retro design. — The eighth Leica M3 Chrome made in 1953, this near-mint camera sold for nearly a million euros.

Top view of a vintage Leica M3 camera. The silver body features dials and levers for adjusting settings. The camera is labeled with "Leica" and "Ernst Leitz GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany.

Another highlight is a Leica MP Black Paint camera and Summicron 50mm f/2 lens lot that sold for 710,000 euros, nearly $745,000.

A vintage Leica MP film camera with a worn black and silver finish, featuring a lens with a cap placed beside it. The text on the cap and camera body reads "Leica." The camera has a textured body and visible dials and controls. — Collectors love black paint Leica cameras, and this Leica MP is no exception. It sold for 710,000 euros at the OstLicht Camera Auction at Fotografiska Shanghai.

While most of the cameras on offer are old, familiar Leica models, there were some oddities in Shanghai, too, such as the E. Leitz New York Leica Gun Rifle Outfit that sold for 533,400 euros, which is just a hair under $560,000. PetaPixel has reported about Leica rifle cameras before, and they are certainly strange and spectacular. In this case, the unit is one of just a dozen in existence and pairs a Leica IIIa from 1937 with a Leica Telyt 200mm f/4 lens.

A vintage camera styled like a rifle, featuring a wooden stock and a long lens. The main body is black with metallic components, and a wire extends from the top. The overall design mimics a firearm. — This Leica NY Gun Rifle from the 1930s sold for 533,400 euros, which is nearly $560,000.

There were also non-Leica lots on offer. For example, a Nikkor-H.C 50mm f/2 lens is among the earliest known Nikkor screw mount lenses. The collapsible lens is engraved with “Made in Occupied Japan” and remains in near-mint condition. It sold for 70,600 euros, $74,043.

A vintage Nikkor camera lens with a silver finish is displayed standing upright. It is accompanied by a black lens cap marked "Nicca" and a cylindrical black lens case. The lens is set against a white background.

Another screw mount lens, the Hugo Meyer Kino Plasmat 50mm f/1.5, sold for 56,500 euros ($59,370), while a Hugo Meyer Makro Plasmat 50mm f/2.7 sold for 37,700 euros ($39,540).

A vintage camera lens with a silver body and engraved numbers is displayed alongside a brown leather case with a buckle. A black lens cap is also shown. The scene has a clean white background.

In total, of the 164 lots available, nearly all of which sold, collectors paid six figures for 10 different lots, all Leica-related.

“Realizing this project together with our Chinese partner Lidong-Auctions and Fotografiska Museum was an extremely big challenge and an adventure with an uncertain outcome. The eighty or so collectors in the room made this auction a very special event, as did the 150 bidders who took part internationally online and by telephone. We are already looking forward to the challenges ahead,” says OstLicht Auctions’ Peter Coeln.

The complete auction results are available online.

Image credits: All images courtesy of OstLicht Auction